It is also planning to double its expenditure in Research and Development (R&D) in the science sector. For this, it is trying to rope in private sector.
Facing stiff competition from dragon which is taking huge leaps in the science and technology (S&T) sector, India is planning some jumbo steps to catch up with its neighbour. It has decided nearly triple its investment in the field of science from Rs33,000 crore to around Rs90,000 crore over the next five years.
It is also planning to double its expenditure in Research and Development (R&D) in the science sector. For this, it is trying to rope in private sector.
In the past two months, prime minister Manmohan Singh has at least twice openly admitted being overtaken by China in the S&T area. In January, while inaugurating the Indian Science Congress, he expressed concern that China has overtaken India in science field and had announced that investment on Research and Development (R&D) would be doubled at least. A few days ago, in an interview, he reiterated that India’s relative position in the world of science has been declining and China in many ways has gone far ahead.
But nevertheless, it seems now government has decided to go full throttle to catch up on the lost ground.
“The prime minister has approved a vastly enhanced capital outlay for research in science and technology. The expenditure in the sector will be almost tripled from Rs33,000 crore in the 11th Five Year Plan at present to around Rs90,000 crore in the 12th Five Year Plan (starting this year),” minister of state for science and technology Ashwani Kumar told DNA.
From amongst this Rs90,000 crore, Kumar said nearly Rs10,000 crore would be given for developments of special science projects like supercomputers.
On competing with China, he said: “In 2006-07 China and India were more or less at par. In subsequent years, China marched ahead and we lagged as there was no eco-system in the country which demanded such focus from us. But now this sector won’t be ignored not just for the sake of science but because it is also important for us in strategic terms.”
Besides this, India is also looking at spending around Rs850 crores for assisting African countries in the sector.
The minister said the government would also be allocating two percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) for research in S&T field against the current spending of 0.98 percent of GDP.
Kumar said they are also taking steps to ensure an increased investment by private sector in R&D work in the field. “At present, government’s spending of the R&D expenditure is around 2/3rd against 1/3rd by private sector. But it should be the other way around. We are meeting top industry representatives to encourage them to take this up,” Kumar added.
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